Riunione
by omggcece
Summary: "The nostalgia is going to kill her." / Three years later, Carly returns from Italy, causing Sam to return to Seattle. Sam/Freddie and Carly/Freddie.


Sam Puckett looked down the empty street, breathing in and out; it was so cold she could see every breath she took in front of her. It was so cold it stung to hold onto her motorcycle - but she couldn't care less at that moment. Her phone rang, again, like it had been doing all night. Cat was probably getting lonely at home, or ready to tell her some zany story about what had happened since she'd left.

Today, for the first time in three years, Sam was going back to Seattle. Damn. The memories were already hitting with force, slamming against her chest and making it hard to breathe, and she hated to admit it but there were tears forming in her eyes. When Carly had left for Italy with her father. . .what had she thought? Maybe, she had thought, Carly and her would stay in contact. It would only be a short time. She would be okay. Sam hadn't been okay.

Riding around on her motorcycle had gotten old fast, and while she knew Freddie and Gibby were still close friends, Sam was alone. Always - except for the short visits she had with Spencer, but that was over fast. Before she knew it Spencer was married, to some brunette who was just as wacky as him and could be Spencer's long lost twin. 'He doesn't have time for you any more,' she had told herself, 'it's time for you to start a new chapter.' So she did. Somehow, she ended up in California, which led to meeting Cat Valentine and practically living with her. At first, she wanted to strangle Cat, but they had fallen into a nice life, with crazy adventures here and there of course.

Sam wasn't Sam without crazy adventures, apparently.

But Cat was no Carly; that's why when Carly called, saying, "My dad is retiring from the Air Force. . .I'm coming home, Sam." Sam found herself on a plane back to Seattle. Would she see Freddie? Gibby? Did Groovy Smoothie and Build-A-Bra still exist? . . .Did she want to see her Mom?

Cat didn't really understand what was going on, but Sam had expected that. The small girl _had _sent her off with a tub of chicken and red velvet cupcakes - giggle - the color of my _hair. _

Sam groaned, but she couldn't stop the grin that came onto her face. Valentine was growing on her. . .

.

.

.

"We are now landing. . ." The flight attendant began. Sam drowned the rest of her words out, eating the last of the cupcakes she had snuck on the flight. She would need a full stomach, because _oh, God, _she was back in Seattle, and anything could happen in Seattle.

Sam got up slowly, shaking out her leg, trying to feel. . .something, in the more than just the physical sense. Her whole body ached. She was _exhausted. _Sam managed to get her bags off and with shaky legs, she exited the plane, and when she reached the airport station she looked around feverishly, wanting to see Carly, no one else, and go home.

"Sam!" A deep voice that she knew all to well called, and her stomach started doing flips. Well, there goes that plan. .she definitely wouldn't 'just be seeing Carly'.

"Freddie?" She replied, wincing at how soft it came out. Sam wanted to slap herself. With that tone of voice, he would be able to know. Know how he ran through Sam's mind every single fucking day that first year after Carly left; how she wondered where it all went so wrong; how she wondered why without Carly years of friendship between them would just. . .be. . .done.

"Hey!" He grabbed her off of her feet, spinning her around till she felt dizzy, making her bags drop to the ground with a loud clatter, which of course made Carly, Gibby, and Spencer came running over. They of course were screaming her name.

The noise was to much all at once. She was starting to feel sick, and _had_ been feeling overwhelmed.

Carly hugged her, tight, tight enough to let Sam know maybe her (former?) best friend never wanted to let go. Sam wanted to know if Carly thought about her all the time like she did; Sam wanted to know if Carly ever regretted basically breaking them all up; Sam wanted to know if Carly still had the blue remote from their 'iCarly' days.

Sam wanted to know if Carly cared half as much as she did.

The whole reunion wasn't even bittersweet, for Sam. It was only bitter, even leaving a bad taste in her mouth. It brought back to many memories and to many questions she had finally stopped asking herself. After Gibby and Spencer embraced her, they were all firing a million questions, multi-tasking as they walked back to the taxi.

"Where have you been all this time?" Spencer asked. His eyes were wide. "I've been worried about you, kid."

"I've still got the motorcycle," Sam blurted out, not answering his question. It was the first thing that came to her mind.

Spencer chuckled. "I figured that!"

They all laughed, but it wasn't the same. There was something reserved to it, like they didn't know what to say to each other or even where to start - which, actually, was true. So much time had passed, and time changes people. They were all aware of that.

"I met this kid named Cat," Sam started off, since everyone was so curious as to where she had been. "We live in the same apartment building, but we see each other so much we may as well live together. Started a business together. We have a lot of good times."

Everyone nodded, an awkward silence settling over them. They were in the taxi now, the driver taking his time as he drove down the street in the gloomy Seattle afternoon.

"I met a guy, in Italy," Carly exclaimed, rubbing her ring finger. Sam immediately knew what she was going to say, especially since there was a knowing expression on Spencer's face.

"He's really nice, and funny, and Italian," Carly giggled. She looked straight at Sam. "We're engaged, and I want you to be my Maid of Honor."

Sam's mouth fell open. "M-m-"

"Engaged?" Freddie yelled. The entire group of old friends tensed; the anger in his voice was obvious. "Why did you kiss me before you left? Why did you send me so many letters? Why have you been Skyping with me every other night?"

"Freddie, I told you, we're just friends. . .that kiss was - I know how you liked me for so long, and I wanted to make you happy before I left," Carly said, softly. She didn't take her eyes off of her sparkly engagement ring, that Sam knew was about four carats.

If Freddie didn't look like Carly had stepped all over his hopes & dreams she would've whistled.

"Alright," Freddie said darkly. He stared straight ahead, some of his hair falling into his eye. He had also grown out his facial hair and continued going to the gym, and Sam couldn't help but notice he was even more handsome than before.

She couldn't help but think if she was Carly, that some Italian guy could never compare with Freddie Benson. . .and Carly was looking at her again.

"Well? Be my maid of honor?" Carly took her hand in hers. "There's no other girl for the job!"

"Yes," Sam said. It was automatic.

"You're a good friend," Carly whispered, loud enough for only them to hear. Damn, the nostalgia was going to kill her.

.

.

.

Sam swallowed the coffee, its bitter taste she had long gotten used to. It was still so cold. . .she hated the winter with a burning passion. She tied her bathrobe tighter.

She was at Spencer's place, and it was four in the morning. Why was she up? A crazy dream about spaghetti tacos made her break out into a sweat and fall out of the bed Carly and her were sharing.

"Sam," a voice whispered in the dark, and she would have been scared by someone calling her name in the middle of the night, but she knew it was Freddie. Sam had his voice memorized like the back of her hand, just like many other things about Freddie, something that bothered her to no end.

"Yes?" She called back, not even giving him a glance.

"Can I have some coffee?"

"Yeah, make it yourself," she replied, rolling her eyes. She didn't have to turn around to know Freddie was glaring at her with a small pout he wasn't even aware of.

"So," Sam started after a while, taking another sip of her coffee, "Carly kissed you before she left?"

"Yeah," Freddie grunted. "Thought we were together. We kept in constant contact afterwards and she sent me pictures all the time. . .guess I was wrong. We were just friends, like always. I'll never get out of the friend zone!" He grimaced at the coffee he had made. "I don't think I did this right, it looks weird. . ."

She never took her gaze off of the coffee. "You're so cruel." Another sip. "All you care about is how Carly broke your heart, but you don't think about how you did the same exact thing to _me. _That same day you asked me if I wanted to get back together, gave me false hope. Then to know that all you could care about was getting back together with Carly and getting out of the friend zone?" Another sip. "Hurts, Benson. Because I would choose you over any Italian guy any day, no matter how much I've always tried to hate you instead of love you. It sucks." Another sip. "You're so cruel."

Sam never looked anywhere else but her coffee, not even when the mug was empty and the door of Spencer's loft was slamming shut, leaving her alone with her memories and old heartbreaks that were becoming new wounds all over again.

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.

.

"You have a lot of dark circles," Carly said to her later, her eyes still fluttering between open and shut every minute or so. It was eight in the morning now, and Carly was trying to drag herself out of bed.

"I know. My sleeping schedule is all shizzed up," Sam informed her, sighing. She felt so old. Sam flipped toyed with a strand of her blond hair, that was now only to her shoulders.

"What brought on the haircut? You loved your hair. _I _loved your hair," Carly asked with a laugh in her voice.

"It was part of starting over," Sam replied. "Now, I've told you all about my life in California, now you _have _to tell me about Italy and your fiancé, of course."

Carly chuckled. "Oh, there's to much to tell you right now. . .I'll just say, I have grown up a lot, and learned a lot of valuable lessons. I'm in the middle of college right now, but I'm going to transfer to a college here now that I'm back. Italy is beautiful; it would be awesome if I took you there one day. I even learned some Italian!"

"That's great, kid."

"Now, my fiancé. . .first of all, his name is Jan. He was born in Paris but moved to Italy when he was young, and is a few years older than me. He's pretty rich, I guess, and we go lots of places together. Jan is so much fun, and really sensitive, and I just love him so much!" Carly gushed, her cheeks starting to turn bright red.

"I can tell you do love him," Sam said, gently. "If he breaks your heart, I'll break his bones."

"Sam!" Carly shrieked. She started tickling Sam, causing the other girl to break out into loud laughs. Only Carly knew that Sam was so ticklish. Sam managed to flip them over, and then she was tickling Carly. They went back and forth for a while, giggles filling up the room and happy tears flowing down their faces, the bond only best friends can have re-emerging.

Sam stopped her attack, flopping down next to Carly. "I thought we had lost that."

"The ability to have fun together?" Carly asked, still breathing heavily. "Me too. We haven't, though. That's why you're my Maid of Honor."

They laced their fingers together, an intimate gesture Sam couldn't picture herself doing with Cat or anyone else in her life.

"And Sam?" Carly said, so quiet Sam could barely make it out. "I know how you feel about Freddie; after the kiss, I had thought about Freddie and me being a. . thing once I came home, but you want him more. So go for it."

Sam's heart skipped a beat.

"Okay," she breathed. "Okay."

.

.

.

"Sam!" Spencer shouted.

"Spencer!" Sam replied, less excitedly. "What's up?"

"I missed you," Spencer whispered, and Sam could see the tears, and there had been to many tears these past few days, and Sam was tired of it.

"Come here, you big child," Sam chuckled, opening her arms. "I missed you more."

"I missed you more more!" Spencer shrieked, dashing over to her, and skipped a hug. Instead, he spun her around, twice, making her dizzy and happy and refreshed and a million other emotions she could never express in words. During this was when she realized she _couldn't _leave - not again, not now. Now that Carly was back, she could not and would not be the one to ruin this beautiful thing they all had when they were together; they all brought out the best in each other, and every single one of them - Freddie, Gibby, Carly, Sam, Spencer - were all important parts that couldn't be gotten rid of.

Cat was understanding when she got the call from Sam later, and had pretty much been expecting it already.

"But," Cat had giggled, her usually airy tone giving Sam that annoyed mixed with endearment feeling she was used to when around Cat, "you better visit me, Sammy!"

Sam sighed, but she was smiling, and she was sure Cat knew. "For the last time, don't call me Sammy! And you better visit me, too, Valentine."

But they didn't say goodbye when Cat hung up; Sam preferred 'see ya later' and she had a feeling it was the truth. Besides, Sam was in Seattle and Cat in California; it wasn't like one of them was going to be in Italy for years, she thought with a grin that wasn't bitter anymore.

Later that night when they were having dinner and Spencer and his wife were blabbering about their new sculpture; Carly was saying 'oh, home sweet home!'; Gibby was trying to take his shirt off and Sam's eyes met Freddie's across the table, she didn't regret her decision one bit.

Her heart was pounding, and the familiar feeling of adrenaline and uncertainty was back. Freddie was still a jerk that she wasn't sure knew who or what he wanted, but he could still make her heart pound.

Sam Puckett was uncertain, but wasn't life all about taking chances?


End file.
